The Bush Legacy: Marine back from Gitmo charged with assaulting parents
mordacp...@hotmail.com
By Matt Sutkoski
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/bfpnews/local/tuesday/5000h.htm
A U.S. Marine pleaded not guilty to assault charges Monday after
prosecutors said he beat his parents over the weekend in Colchester.
Charles W. Blount, 31, was released on conditions, including that he
not make contact with his family and that he undergo a psychiatric
evaluation. He is charged with one count of aggravated assault and one
charge of simple assault. Court papers indicate Blount has no prior
criminal record in Vermont.
When Colchester police arrived at the Blount home after a 911 call just
before midnight Friday, they saw through a window that Blount was
assaulting his bloodied mother, according to court papers. Police
kicked in the door and subdued Blount after a brief struggle.
The inside of the house
was strewn with broken furniture and blood was spattered on the walls
of the kitchen, hallway and living room, police said, according to
court papers. Blount's father, Edmon Blount, was found bloodied and
nearly unconscious on a couch, the court papers indicated.
The court papers gave no indication of a motive for the alleged
assault. The mother, Margaret Blount, told police that she, her husband
and son visited and drank martinis before Margaret Blount went to bed.
She was awakened by the sound of her husband and son arguing. Soon,
Margaret Blount told police, Charles Blount was hitting her husband,
and then struck her, according to the court papers.
Charles Blount's sister, Ciara Blount, 17, was in an upstairs bedroom
when she heard the fight. She called a sister in Virginia, who urged
her to stay in the bedroom. Ciara Blount was just about to call 911
when police burst into the house. The court papers did not indicate who
called 911.
As Charles Blount was being led away, he resisted getting into the
cruiser, and once inside the car, began kicking the passenger side
window of the cruiser, court papers allege. Police said Blount's blood
alcohol content was 0.225. A motorist can be arrested for drunken
driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08.
The Blount parents were treated at Fletcher Allen Health Care and
released.
Court records show Blount has been a Marine for 13 years. Prosecutor
Carolyn Hanson said until recently, Blount had been posted at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The U.S. military is holding detainees from
Afghanistan and elsewhere at Guantanamo.
Blount's attorney, James Murdoch, declined comment Monday.